Portable displays have found wide usage in today's business environment, particularly with respect to businesses which participate in conventions, trade shows, seminars and other such events. Due to the nature of this application, such portable displays are typically assembled and disassembled by a limited number of persons at the exhibition site. Thus, a basic design requirement of such portable display devices is a minimization of weight and structural complexity, coupled with a maximization of durability and aesthetic appearance. Generally, prior art display devices sacrifice one of these design factors in favor of another, i.e. known systems which are durable and attractive are also cumbersome, heavy and complicated to assemble, or known systems which are lightweight and easy to assemble lack sufficient durability to withstand constant assembly and disassembly. In the extremely competitive sales environments in which trade show exhibits are commonly used, the owner is usually not willing to sacrifice durability or aesthetic appearance. Therefore, typical prior art exhibit display devices are heavy, awkward to transport and require a complicated and cumbersome assembly process.
The conventional trade show display is a semi-permanent reusable display designed for long-term usage. These are generally custom fabricated, and are very heavy and durable, allowing for frequent reuse. Such displays are very costly to buy as well as to use. For transport, the displays must be broken down into numerous component parts, which are then crated for shipping. In a typical installation, such assemblies must be received at a proper loading dock and constructed by the exhibit site personnel at a substantial cost. Frequently, only venue employees are allowed to unload and construct the exhibit display. This can dramatically increase the costs of setting up a large exhibit. For example, an exhibit display large enough to fill a semi-trailer may cost approximately $4,000 to ship across the country. However, local drayage (the unloading of the trailer at the exhibit dock and the carrying of the exhibit pieces to the display area) may cost an equal amount, just to move the exhibit display pieces the final 100 feet. These local drayage costs are based upon the manpower required to unload the exhibit display and the time required for doing so. These factors are typically directly related to the weight and size of the individual exhibit display pieces. Extremely high drayage costs are the norm in the trade show exhibit industry, owing to the fact that the exhibit displays must be sturdily constructed in order to withstand constant assembly, disassembly and shipping. The modular panels used in existing exhibit displays are typically large, heavy and cumbersome, requiring two men to carry each modular panel.
A typical prior art modular wall panel system for use at a trade show exhibit is illustrated if FIG. 1 and indicated generally at 10. Each panel of the prior art modular exhibit 10 includes a frame constructed from vertical support members 12 and horizontal support members 14. The supports 12 and 14 are typically 1".times.4" wooden boards. These boards are stapled and/or screwed to one another in order to form a rigid frame for each modular panel. A decorative outer skin (not shown) is then placed over one side of the frame. In such prior art modular display systems 10, in which the rear side of each display panel is hidden from view and therefore does not include a rear outer skin covering, adjacent panels of the display 10 may be secured to one another by means of bolts 16 and nuts 18 which engage appropriate holes drilled through the frames. Because there is no rear outer skin on such display panels, access may be had to the bolts 16 and nuts 18 through the rear of the display for assembly and disassembly.
However, the prior art exhibit display 10 has several drawbacks. First, because it is constructed with a wooden frame, it is extremely heavy and bulky, requiring two persons to carry an average sized panel (8'.times.4'.times.4"). Furthermore, the use of bolts 16 and nuts 18 to interconnect adjoining panels requires a very labor intensive and lengthy assembly time. Furthermore, tools are required for such assembly and disassembly and it is nearly impossible to guarantee that nuts and bolts will not be lost during such operations.
A second type of prior art exhibit display is illustrated in FIG. 2 and indicated generally at 20. Like the display panels 10 of FIG. 1, the display 20 utilizes frames constructed from 1".times.4" wooden supports 12 and 14. However, the panels of the display system 20 contain outer decorative skins (not shown) on beth the front and back sides thereof, intended for viewing from either side. Because the rear side of such displays are covered by the decorative outer skin, it is not possible to utilize the bolts 16 and nuts 18 of the display system 10 because access may not be had to these for disassembly. The display panels 20 are therefore constructed using rotary locks comprising male portions 22 and female portions 24. Such rotary locks are operated by means of an allen wrench key 26. The key 25 is inserted through a small hole formed in the outer skin on one side of the display panel.
The rotary lock system is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3. The display panel system 20 of FIG. 3 is illustrated with the front outer skin removed so that the rotary lock system is exposed to view. The male portion 22 and female portion 24 of the rotary lock are each joined to the inside surface of one of the vertical support members 12 of the display unit frame. The rotary lock portions 22 and 24 are mounted over longitudinal slots 28 formed through the vertical support members 12. When the rotary lock key 26 is inserted into the keyhole 30 in the male portion 22 and rotated, a hook 32 is caused to extend through the slot 28 adjacent the male portion 22. When the two panels of the display system 20 are adjacent one another, extension of the hook 32 causes it to enter the slot 28 adjacent the female portion 24 and to engage a transverse bar (not shown) within the female portion 24. The transverse bar is rigidly attached within the female portion 24 by means of the connector 34. By this means, the adjoining panels in the display system 20 are rigidly affixed to one another by turning of the key 26 of the rotary lock. Similarly, the adjoining panels are disengaged from one another by turning the key 26 in the opposite direction.
Although the rotary lock of the display system 20 of FIGS. 2 and 3 eliminates the cumbersome assembly and disassembly of the bolts and nuts of the display system 10, the rotary lock adds weight and complexity to the display system 20 and also requires that the key 25 be maintained in close proximity to the display system 20. If the key 26 is lost, the exhibit display may not be constructed or disassembled. Furthermore, the display system 20 exhibits even more weight and bulk than the display system 10.
There is therefore a need in the prior art for a display system which may be easily assembled and disassembled at exhibit trade shows, which has substantially less weight and bulk than prior art display systems, such that transportation and drayage costs of the modular panels are reduced, yet which retains the durability and aesthetic appearance of the high quality prior art display panels. The present invention is directed toward meeting these needs.